Senator Rand Paul's new tax-reform plan is a considerable improvement over his old one. He's done what more politicians should: revise their ideas to take account of valid criticisms. But even the new plan doesn't live up to the senator's rhetoric. And it isn't going anywhere.

Paul's earlier plan was a 17 percent flat tax that would have raised taxes for much of the middle class, especially parents, while reducing them for the rich. The new plan, which Paul is calling a "fair and flat tax," avoids such big increases.

It has two main parts. First, Paul would replace the income and payroll taxes with a 14.5 percent flat tax with exemptions of $15,000 for filers and $5,000 for dependents. Families of four therefore wouldn't pay taxes on their first $50,000 of income. Second, Paul would replace the corporate income tax with a new 14.5 percent "business activity tax..."

Read the full article at Bloomberg View: Rand Paul's Implausible Flat Tax